Median house prices skyrocket in leafy suburbs Toorak and Balwyn

Toorak and Balwyn have emerged as Melbourne's best performing suburbs according to the Victorian Valuer-General's latest figures.

They also show Melbourne's median house price grew 1.4 per cent, rising to $476,500 from $470,000 in March, though not enough to fully correct the 4.1 per cent drop in the first three months of the year.

Unit median prices in the city and suburbs remained stable at $425,000, while vacant land dropped back 2.3 per cent to $210,000.

The Valuer-General figures, regarded as the most accurate reflection of Melbourne property values, show that for the June quarter our highest priced suburb, Toorak, came up trumps - with the median property price growing by $1.47 million to $3.5 million.

And well-heeled Balwyn jumped from a $1.21 million median in March to $1.62 million in June.

The rest of Melbourne had mixed fortunes, with the Fairfield median sliding from $1.25 million in March to $823,000 in June.

But the number of suburbs losing value has slowed - 49 suburbs recorded drops in March compared to 69 in June.

Melton South is our most affordable suburb with a median price of $240,000 - a slight increase from $228,500 in March.

Victorian Valuer-General Robert Marsh said the numbers indicated a drop in total sales and values around the state.

"This is a 4.2 per cent decrease on the number of sales in the March 2012 quarter and a 6 per cent decrease on the same quarter the previous year," he said.

"House sales data for the whole of Victoria for the quarter ending June 2012 indicates that the median house sale price decreased by 0.7 per cent to $405,000. This compares to a decrease of 2.9 per cent in the March 2012 quarter.

There was a $3000 drop in the median house price Victoria wide for the quarter. And there was a 5.8 per cent drop from $430,000 to $405,000 has occurred between June 2011 and June this year.

Median unit prices bucked the trend, however, and grew by $3000 over the quarter, though remained $7,500 behind the $410,500 median recorded in June last year.

In a case of good news for buyers hoping to build their own dream home, vacant land prices also fell slightly - from $182,000 in March to $178,900 in June. The median was $182,000 in June, 2011.